I slept badly last night, as did millions around the globe. Wracked with fear and grief, I awoke many times, stunned with the realisation that sexism, racism, fear, and blame had triumphed. Donald Trump, a man-boy with textbook narcissism, is to be the new President of the United States.
Needing my sleep, I coached myself, “Surrender, sleep, there is nothing you can do right now.”
On awaking, I was sick with grief, as so many of you are. But my thought is no longer of impotence, but choice. I cannot change the outcome of this election, but I can make a radical and life-altering choice. As can you.
Last Winter Solstice, 2015, I awoke from a strange dream. In it, I was above the earth, looking down on it, as an astronaut does. I saw the beautiful blue planet we call home, with its verdant green hills, aqua-marine oceans, steel cities and wondrous white mountains.
As I gazed, I saw the earth, Gaia, begin to quiver. Seamlessly, before my eyes, she began to move. She began to split. From one planet, another identical planet was born. In an act of effortless transition, like cell division, Gaia reproduced herself exactly.
With one clear difference.
On one planet were those who strive to move beyond the notion of dualism and separateness. Those who understand that God is not outside of us, a babysitter in the sky, but within us. We remember our own sacred divinity, our own source. Though still flawed, and perhaps still wounded by the power-over structures in which we have lived, we seek something greater than competition and power and hatred. We seek union. We are hungry for transformation, so that we might transcend the dualism of us/them, male/female, right/wrong, good/bad. We seek harmony, acceptance, love, honouring, and yes, grace.
On the other planet were those who are not yet finished with dualism. Not yet having had an opportunity to enjoy the spoils of power, they seek it. Disenfranchised with old structures that have not served them, they are hungry for gain. Believing that someone, some great man, can pull them out of misery, they trust blindly. Not having the tools for self-awareness and responsibility, they blame.
We all hold each planet inside ourselves. Sometimes, we slip from one to the other, losing our way, then finding strength again. Our programming sometimes keeps us afraid, but we can choose to remember the sacredness of who we are, the sacredness of the planet. Or, we can choose competition, power over, dualism.
Today, I am reminded which planet I choose to live on, for my thoughts are my guide and my choice. Though flawed, I, like you, can choose union, rather than division. We can honour our world through listening to each other, educating ourselves, healing ourselves.
Not all of us are finished with dualism. But many of us are working to rise above.
I know which planet I am choosing. What is your choice?